


Seven Minutes

by Rocketbear



Series: Everyone Kisses Sena [2]
Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: Kissing Games, M/M, Party Games, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 05:44:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18543484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rocketbear/pseuds/Rocketbear
Summary: Sena and Shin get roped into a party game that neither of them is particularly well-suited for. How do you win a kissing game, anyway?





	Seven Minutes

It was after the Fall Tokyo Tournament Awards Ceremony with everyone milling around and chatting after they'd changed back into their casual clothes, and it turned out that one of the linemen from Oujou's parents were out of town, and he had a really big house ( _"Rich kids,"_ Toganou had mumbled upon approaching the house, and Juumonji had pulled a little face while Kuroki nodded sagely), and everyone was riding high from the awards ceremony and the upcoming Christmas Bowl, and, well, it was the perfect storm for an impromptu party.

It wasn't too wild, honestly, even with the high spirits-- most of the managers of the teams that attended had banded together to demand _no alcohol!_ , with Mamori spearheading the movement after having originally come to the ceremony to support the current generation of Devil Bats-- but they hadn't banned fireworks, and they hadn't banned dumb party games involving creative use of household objects and seeing how much abuse football pads could _really_ take, and they hadn't banned Hiruma.

However, for all the chaos that those things brought, more to point for Sena was that they hadn't banned _Suzuna_. Suzuna who, upon investigating the coat closet in the house's sitting room (separate from the living room, separate from the lounge), had turned with hands cupped around her mouth and demanded, "Let's play Seven Minutes In Heaven!"

There was a sudden rush from both sides of the doorway as some partygoers attempted to flee and others attempted to rush in. Sena was just starting to seriously consider the risks of using the Devil Bat Dive without his padding on from behind the traffic jam when he heard the tell-tale whir of rollerblades and felt a hand snag in the back of his shirt-- and that's how he found himself sitting nervously in a circle of the familiar faces of several other football players, team managers, and cheerleaders.

A circle which included, Sena noticed with his stomach doing cartwheels, a very blank-faced Shin, sitting next to a reluctantly amused Sakuraba.

"Okay, everyone!" Suzuna clapped her hands, beaming. "You know the rules! Spin the bottle, and whoever it lands on has to join you in the closet for seven minutes! Who knows what might happen~"

She paused patiently for the brief flurry of titters, whistles and whoops to calm down before pounding one fist into her open palm and firmly continuing, "And remember, no re-spins! If your spin lands back on yourself, the group votes on your partner! I'll spin first to determine the first player! Ready?!"

There was a chorus of affirmative responses as Sena fought the urge to bury his face in his hands. Whyyy hadn't he just gone for that Devil Bat Dive--?!

Oblivious to (or, okay, probably internally giggling at) his pain, Suzuna spun the bottle, and the game was on.

The bottle landed on Harao, and Sena breathed a sigh of relief-- Harao was just a few spots down from him going clockwise, so probably everyone would get bored before the rotation actually made its way back around the circle. He just had to get lucky with other people's spins, and…!

Harao spun, landing on one of the Seibu cheerleaders, and the two of them rose gracefully to a chorus of "Ooooh~"s. Sena felt a little jealous-- how could they act so cool about it?!-- but felt himself relax as the game went on. Some of the banter about what the group might find when Suzuna yanked open the closet door in seven minutes made his face go red, but seven minutes was a long time to just wait on a closed door, and most of the conversation turned back to the same chatting and goofing that people had been doing prior to the start of the game.

Still, a few times when Sena accidentally caught Shin's eyes across the circle, he felt the need to glance away, heat rising in his cheeks. This just-- didn't seem like the right place for him to be seeing his rival. Shin was all intensity on the football field, but here, at a casual party (and in the middle of a kissing game!) he just seemed… out of place.

It was a little-- well-- cute. Shin was as serious about football as ever, but he had been hanging back with Sakuraba to actually participate in more of the social activities in the American football world across the last year, Sena had noticed. As he watched Sakuraba patiently explain to a frowning Shin that some people only watched the Super Bowl for the half-time show, Sena was bizarrely reminded of he and Riku from way back in the day-- him, dogging around after Riku and hanging onto his every word, and Riku confidently extolling the five most important qualities of a hero or something just as silly.

It was a ridiculous comparison, and Sena was almost embarrassed by the thought as he had it-- Shin was impossibly cool, so if anything, he was more like Riku than Sena!-- but still, it was a little reassuring to Sena that Shin wasn't perfect at _everything._ It made them feel a little more level, a little more like Shin might not be completely out of his league.

\--As rivals! Sena hurriedly tuned back into the conversation going on next to him instead of eavesdropping on Sakuraba and Shin. That had gotten-- a little weird, but now wasn't the time to be thinking about Shin and the ways he'd sort of softened around the edges in the last year-- Sena did his best to shove the thought out of his mind as the game moved on.

Next to spin was Juumonji, and he and Kuroki put on a show of exaggerated gagging and posturing as Suzuna ushered them into the closet. Seven minutes later, it was Mizumachi and Wakana, he enthusiastic and she blushing furiously. They emerged seven minutes later with Wakana beaming, her hair styled in a lovely complex braid, and then it was Shin's turn.

His brow furrowed slightly as he reached for the bottle. Sena, weirdly, felt himself holding his breath. Shin gave the bottle a twist, and it made one, two, three, four rotations around the circle…

Before landing back on Shin himself.

"OOOH!!"

The circle erupted. Suzuna, looking as if she'd won the lottery, sprang to her feet-- well, wheels.

"A self-spin! Everyone! Who should--" She started, and looked mildly put out as the circle rushed to interrupt her, before grinning as she registered their unanimous cries.

"Eyeshield!" 

"Sena!"

"Kobayakawa!"

Sena thought his brain might literally bake inside his skull, his face was so hot. Shin watched him impassively along with APPARENTLY THE ENTIRE REST OF THE CIRCLE as he barely managed to squeak, "Why me?!"

Mizumachi reached his long arms across the circle and slapped Sena on the back.

"You're rivals! It's dramatic! What will happen when you face each other here instead of on the football field? Will you be able to get past him here?!"

"What does that even _mean?_ "

"And plus," Mizumachi continued bluntly as if he hadn't even heard the question, which he probably hadn't, "you're always staring at--"

"ANYWAY," Sakuraba interrupted with a loud cough, and Sena could have kissed _him_ until he grinned in Sena's direction and continued, "it's the rules, Sena."

"But--"

_But_ , Sena's objections were put to rest when Shin nodded and stood from his side of the circle, looking down at him.

"It's our turn."

...So Sena had no choice but to rise, shoulders hunched as he and Shin were followed to the closet by the circle's rising cheers.

"Here we go!" Suzuna giggled as she followed them to the door, ready to lock it behind them. "Timer starts… now!"

The door clicked shut, and Sena and Shin were plunged into darkness.

Sena swallowed, mouth dry as he bumped against the row of coats behind him, from where Suzuna had shoved them all to either end of the closet. Shin said, "Hm."

Sena jumped. "Hm?!"

"...I don't understand the point of this game."

"The-- the point?"

"Yes. There does not seem to be an objective or a winning condition."

"Oh. Oh! Well-- it's just for fun. Um, it's just supposed to be silly and embarrassing to make everyone laugh, really…"

"Why embarrassing?"

"W...well… People can do whatever they want, even just talk! Like, it looks like Mizumachi-san just braided Wakana-san's hair! But usually everyone assumes the people that go in are going t-to…"

"..."

"..."

"...Kobayakawa? Go on."

"Thatthey'regoingtokiss."

"What?"

"...k-kiss."

"..."

"..."

"Hm."

"Y-yeah."

Sena heard Shin shift in the dark, hangers clicking gently against each other from their places on the closet's hanging rod. His cheeks were still warm, but he'd actually cooled down a bit-- as embarrassing as it was to explain that he and Shin were currently the stars of a kissing game, Shin being just as lost as he was about it was a little…

He couldn't suppress the thought now any more than he'd been able to earlier, even though this was definitely the Worst Time to be thinking it. It was cute. Shin was being cute, and he was going to be stuck in here for seven whole minutes with Shin being _cute_ and nothing to do about it.

Shin shifted again. Sena could swear that he heard him take a breath to speak and then stop, but he couldn't imagine Shin actually hesitating-- he was always so decisive. But…

"...Do you want to?"

Sena froze.

"Huh? Sh-Shin-san?"

"Do you want to. Kiss," Shin said. He added, slowly: "...if that is how the game is played."

Sena felt a little dizzy, which he would normally blame on the stuffiness of the closet, but was _definitely because **Shin just asked if he wanted to kiss.**_ He must have stared at the vague shape of Shin in the closet too long, however, mouth agape, because he heard Shin start to shift further back toward the collection of coats on his side of the closet.

"Never mind it, then," Shin said, and Sena realized with a shock that he must be feeling vulnerable, despite his steady voice. Even if it was Shin-- Shin, who everyone thought only cared about football, but who had done his best to give Sena advice so many times over the last two years, Shin who constantly pushed himself to be better-- to be perfect-- Shin, who was just a year older than he was, and who'd just asked a boy if he wanted to kiss him.

Sena reached out without even thinking, curling his fingers lightly in Shin's shirt.

"...You want to kiss me?"

Shin was quiet, but as his eyes began to adjust to the low light, Sena thought he could see him looking away. He realized, belatedly, that his question was still leaving the ball unfairly in Shin's court.

Which meant that he had to actually give an answer himself, but the words came as easily to him as reaching for Shin had, with no conscious thought behind them. He scrambled to add, "I-I mean-- yes-- let's play, Shin-san."

Shin looked back to him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Sena said, sounding and feeling _alarmingly_ breathless, oh god, is that something that actually _happened_ to people, was he a stereotype? He was a stereotype. He crossed the small distance between them, turning his face up.

Shin carefully reached for him, brushing his fingers over Sena's cheeks and lips to make sure he knew where his features were. Sena suppressed a shiver as Shin gently cupped his face, thumbs stroking the lines of his jaw, and murmured, "Very well."

They missed slightly the first time, Sena having gone up on his toes without thinking about it, Shin kissing just his bottom lip more than actually kissing Sena. Sena was a half-second from falling all over himself with apologies when he heard Shin make a puzzled grunt, and it was so unexpected that he huffed a nervous giggle instead.

"Oh--" He grinned, and heard a responding huff of what was _probably_ something like laughter from Shin. "Sorry, I'll hold still--"

"Hmm," Shin hummed, and kissed him again. The two of them found their mark, this time, Sena waiting until they'd connected to push closer to Shin on his tiptoes. He let one hand uncurl from Shin's shirt to slide over the fabric instead, a little lost in the sensation of-- well-- Shin's chest, and Shin's lips, and Shin's smell…

He felt Shin take a slightly unsteady breath against his lips. He realized with a thrill that _he_ did that, whether Shin was just thinking of this as a game or not, but ever the worrying sort, he couldn't help but ask:

"Okay, Shin-san--?"

"Yes," Shin sighed, and stroked his hands down from Sena's face-- over his shoulders, over his back, settling on his waist and helping to pull Sena against him, firmer support for Sena's raised heels. He repeated Sena's question back to him, sounding only slightly less uncertain, and Sena thought he might die. "Okay?"

"Yeah." Sena swallowed, and leaned heavily into Shin's grip, reaching for another kiss. "Yeah--"

Things... devolved a bit from there. Sena forgot about the game entirely, and made the discovery that he was a bossy kisser, burying his hands in Shin's hair so he could press for kiss after kiss. They ended up leaned against the wall, Shin somewhat slouched so that Sena could reach him more easily, his hands somewhere up the back of Sena's shirt. At one point, he did turn his face away, taking a steadying breath, and Sena made a confused hum when his lips met the line of Shin's jaw instead of his intended target.

"Kobayakawa," Shin said, and then had to pause for another breath. "Sena."

Sena felt a leap of worry, and pulled away slightly, moving his hands from Shin's hair to his shoulders.

"Y-yes? Sorry, too much? I can stop--"

"No," Shin interrupted him firmly. "Please don't. I merely, I have a question."

"Okay," Sena said, wondering dizzily what sort of question could be so important to need to interrupt _this._ He took a steadying breath himself. "Go ahead?"

"I… would like to do this again."

That wasn't a question. Sena paused for a breath, dizziness suddenly gone and replaced by nervous clarity. He could feel Shin's heart pounding, steady but fast, from where he was pressed against him.

Carefully, he squeaked, "...M-make out?"

"No," Shin said, and then let out a frustrated huff. "That's not all. I'd like," and then he paused, and Sena leaned even further back to ensure he was blocking as little of the light coming from under the closet door as possible, trying desperately to make out Shin's features in the dim closet. He _had_ to see this.

Even more carefully, he ventured another guess, heart beating wildly like a moth in a jar.

"...Shin-san-- a-are you asking me out…?"

"Yes," Shin said with an obvious sigh of relief. "Yes."

Wait, Sena told himself. His head was buzzing with the same adrenaline-fueled delight he always got from making a touchdown, but he tried to push back on that rising bubble of disbelieving joy. This was Shin, after all, and Shin could be a little-- out of touch, with social things. He had to be sure.

"On-- on a date?"

"Yes. Next weekend. We can train," and Sena couldn't fight back a smile any longer, _of course_ , "and then have dinner. I'll find somewhere that can meet both of our nutritional requirements."

This _was_ Shin. This was Shin, and Shin wanted to take him on a date. Sena full-on grinned, and nodded shyly.

"Okay."

"Yes?"

"Yes," Sena confirmed, and leaned to kiss Shin again.

He could feel Shin smiling slightly against his mouth, and it made him feel so light he thought he could fly away, if he really wanted to.

Which he didn't. He wrapped his arms around Shin's neck, and let Shin turn to press him back against the wall, and kissed him like it was the only thing keeping him anchored to the ground.

And then the door opened, and the wall behind Sena's back wasn't the wall at all, and--

"TIME'S UP!"

\--And Shin kept the two of them from falling into a heap on the ground by catching one hand against the doorframe, but that still left Sena dangling from his neck with Shin's other hand on the small of his back, both of them with disheveled hair and flushed faces and staring at the circle with wide eyes.

There was a beat.

"Oh my god," Sakuraba said with a disbelieving, half-quirked smile.

"Oh my god!" Suzuna said with a delighted clap of her hands.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," the rest of the circle shrieked, and some of them actually hopped up to rush over, and Sena didn't think his face would ever NOT be fire engine red again-- but he couldn't help but look to Shin (awkward Shin, kind Shin, Shin who he had a date with next weekend) as the two of them tolerated congratulatory slaps on the shoulder and jeers and dirty questions, and he had no regrets.

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 of Everyone Kisses Sena! This is more the speed y'all should probably be expecting for the rest of the pieces-- Juumonji's just took a lot of set-up and also sprang nearly fully-formed from my head without a lot of hiccups, despite being the third piece that I actually started and the last one I settled on a premise for-- but the majority are going to be pretty simple fluff pieces. I was excited to get this one done, though, given that Shin/Sena is my actual ES21 OTP! I have a much longer stand-alone fic for them in progress that's currently sitting at 12k words while I dabble with EKS and a separate HiruMamo fic. I'M SO HYPE TO BE BACK INTO ES21, Y'ALL. Thanks for reading and I hope you stick around for the other installments!


End file.
